The Young Turks - Part 2: Dr. Cenk

Episode Date: December 28, 2020

Part 2: Dr. Cenk in the House: You've got questions and by gum, Cenk has answers. Cenk on the air to field your burning, itching, or otherwise nagging questions. Cenk is not an actual doctor. All advi...ce given is for entertainment purposes only. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You're listening to the Young Turks, the online news show. Make sure to follow and rate our show with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five stars. You're awesome. Thank you. All right, back on the Young Turks, Dr. Jenks special, asterix, not an actual doctor. So I'm going to read some of your comments, and then I'm going to show you some of the videos that folks sent in and answer your questions. So some folks were very generous, so we really appreciate it on Super Chat. Papin wrote in, thanks Jenk and Anna for sharing your life experiences. Papin, thank you for making shows like this possible.
Starting point is 00:00:37 We appreciate it. The honestly guys, the number one way to do that is t.yt.com slash go. And we've been able to keep all of our employees through coronavirus and keep doing the show for you guys. And they keep doing specials like this because of your generosity. So we deeply appreciated t.yt.com slash go. Steve go watch also very generous on super chat. Steve said recently achieved my educational goal of a master's in accounting and will be entering corporate world in the world of international tax. However, I am wondering how to avoid
Starting point is 00:01:07 having my values become corporatizer homogenized as I try to remain happy in that world. So Steve, that's a great question. And so how do we do that? Well, the answer is don't let it warp you and but also understand how to achieve balance, right? We're not always going to be perfect, brother. And so when I was a lawyer, there's a brief experience, but I'll tell you a couple of quick stories about it. So I remember one time guy walks in and he was an associate. I was a first year, so he was much higher than me, but he wasn't a partner.
Starting point is 00:01:49 and he had actually thrown me under a bus to a partner. He'd pretended that I had not done an assignment that he had given me weeks ago. Total lie. Turns out lawyers lie sometimes. I didn't know that. But I was like kind of shell-shocked by it. And that was my first experience in the corporate world and how it could go down sometimes. But if I say, no, he didn't give me that assignment, then he's going to get furious.
Starting point is 00:02:14 The partner's not necessarily going to believe me. And it's going to cause a giant mess, right? So I just swallowed it. So I was like, okay, I'm so sorry about that. I'll get on it right away. And I had it. I worked over time. I worked through, I don't through the night or whatever it was, but I got it through
Starting point is 00:02:31 the partner as soon as I could the next day or the day after, because it was a big assignment. And I never said that to the anything to the other guy. By the way, that guy came into my office once going, huh, you got kind of a big office here. I should have this office. So are there guys like that in the corporate world? Yes, definitely. Should you look out for them? Yes, don't be naive, right? But you can't let
Starting point is 00:02:55 everything eat you up. And sometimes you just got to take the hit and move on. And sometimes you've got to plan your revenge. So it depends on the context, right? And then we, God, now let me tell you the kind of law that I worked in. It was only seven months. But I worked corporate offices and directors liability litigation. What that means is when CEOs rip people off, it was our job to defend them. Oh, so I worked on a case where I was like, remember, Jank, you're a lawyer, you're a lawyer, you're just supposed to represent who your clients are, but our clients were not good guys. You know, I didn't know anything that wasn't public.
Starting point is 00:03:40 It was a giant case that had been litigated publicly, but the more I, I read tomorrow was like, Jesus Christ, man. And then there was a case where a basketball player who a lot of you know, and I've said his name before, but I don't want to get people in trouble. So there's a terrific, terrific guy from way back in the day. And he saved up all of his money for his family. And he had this one guy he trusted invest that money in his safe investments so he wouldn't get blow it. That guy turned out to be a crook and put it in really risky investments because he wanted to make more and keep the extra money for himself and not tell his client who he was ripping off. And since he put it in risky investments, he lost all the guy's
Starting point is 00:04:27 money. And our job was to defend the bad guy. I just couldn't do it. And I went into the partner and I said, in that case, I took the bullet of, it's okay if this hurts my career, because this is is a line I can't cross. I can't live with myself. So I told a partner, I'm sorry and I know this is not a good thing, but I can't work on this case. So help me out. Tell me what to do, what punishment I need or whatever for it to make amends, but I just, I can't do it. And he was, he was a very good guy about it. He said, no, no, no. It's like, look, it's okay. I get it. And I understand the facts of the case, too. He's like, but Jenk, you are a lawyer. And you I do have to represent these guys, but I'll give you a mulligan on this one, basically is what he said to me.
Starting point is 00:05:14 And I thought, because that was the last mulligan I was going to take is I was going to quit. But you don't have to quit. You can just find the balance that works for you. And if it turns out sometimes you're working on a case, in my case, because I was a lawyer, or you're doing something that isn't like the world's greatest thing and it's not a charity that helps everyone. And yeah, sometimes you got to swallow your pride and just get beyond it because you got to feed your family, right? And don't judge yourself too harshly for it. And at other times, know where your line is and don't cross it because then that's going to eat you up later. And that's what life is. If life was easy, it'd be black and white, right? You'd be, oh, you just do that and just keep doing that or do this and keep doing this. That's super easy. But life isn't like that. It's a constant nonstop balancing act. All right. Let me go to another kind of longish. Well, no, let me do you do a couple small ones.
Starting point is 00:06:14 Then we'll do a video and then we'll do the longer comments. Steve wrote in in the member section, t.yt.com slash join and become a member or you could become a member on Twitch. That was really easy, especially if you have Amazon Prime. It doesn't even cost you anything. You could hit the join button below on YouTube. That's great. Steve, it's just with a nice comment.
Starting point is 00:06:33 It says, I wish I would have discovered TYT earlier than I did to enjoy that journey. And guys, especially for long time members, but for all of you guys, and some of these names I've seen for, well, we started the membership program actually back in 2005. Jesus. So some of your names I've seen for 15 years, you are like family. And we did live this journey together. And I love that we lived it together and we shared it together. And so when I say I love you guys, that's actually a little bit literal.
Starting point is 00:07:04 Because to me, love is making something a part of who you are. Because our body is, like I said earlier, who cares about your knee and your elbow? The only thing you really have is your mind, and your identity, in your sense of self. And so loving something makes them a part of your identity, part of who you are. I love my kids so much because they're part of who I am. They're not distinct from me. And so then the more you share, the more you become, in a sense, one, unified with that person. So you and I together have shared so much.
Starting point is 00:07:47 And some of you did these wonderful things like working for years at Wolfpack to against unbelievable odds. But you love this country and you love your fellow citizens and the people in Wolfpack. And you stayed in there. Some of you gave a little bit of donation to AOC or you volunteer for Jamal Bowman or Corey Bush. And I hope that you got the fulfillment you richly deserve out of that because you made that happen. And so we've lived this journey together. So we we almost share an identity in a sense. And that's wonderful, wonderful. But if you just came to the party, who cares? The water's warm. Hopefully we'll be around a long time. And we'll share the rest of it together.
Starting point is 00:08:28 And okay, now this is a weird one because there's a lot of happy talk here. Let me go to one that is not happy talk. So, and that's what I mean by it's weird. Lucas's comment is not weird. It's just, I don't want to all just be like sunshine and rainbows because that's not how life is. So Lucas I own the member section wrote in Dr. Jenk, I like that it's already a thing.
Starting point is 00:08:53 Have you ever had a ruminating memory where you felt? humiliated or embarrassed and that feeling of embarrassment seems as strong as the moment you remember it. Yes, definitely. And some of our sharpest senses and emotions are around negative feelings. So now when you get to be a Jedi at the level I am, I actually soak those it. So I don't, I like, take a negative emotion like that and I jump in it. I soak it up. Like I feel the pain of it and that means I lived a little bit. I know that's crazy. That sounds crazy and that you got to work up to that level. Okay. And I'm not, I'm, no, I'm not kidding. It really is. And so I've told this story before to members and the post games or old school or
Starting point is 00:09:49 something. I remember one time I was playing blackjack with a couple of friends. And I lost a little bit too much money that I didn't have. And God, it hurt. And I remember I like, I probably had the usual sob story. Any gambler knows. I had a 20 and the guy had a six, the dealer showed a six. He pulls a five, gets a 21. I lose it all after I doubled it down. I doubled down. My recollection, it was $300, and it was $300 I didn't remotely have. So what was I doing? So that pain of like, damn it, right? And I felt it and I soaked it in.
Starting point is 00:10:29 And then I pouted my fist on the table and said, I'm alive. And my friend Greg laughed and laughed and laughed and said, you're the craziest guy I ever met. And that's probably true. So, but before you get there, Lucas, we've all felt it, brother, we've all felt. You think we haven't made mistakes, we've all made a hundred mistakes. That's why, honestly, like getting political for a second, that's why I not only don't agree
Starting point is 00:10:59 with cancel culture, I really can't quite stand it, to be honest. Oh, somebody made a mistake once, that's it canceled them forever. Oh, for God's sake, aren't we all canceled? Jesus, who is so perfect? They didn't make a terrible mistake or seven of them in their lives. And certainly not me, and probably not you, because we're human. We miscalculated. We did the wrong thing.
Starting point is 00:11:22 We got over-exuberant. We got too selfish. We took too much risk. We've done it a thousand times. And so if you feel that you're not at all alone. And don't, of all people here, my old friend, Jimmy Dore had a good line. He said, you're something along to the other. I say he's a good line.
Starting point is 00:11:43 And then I kind of forgot it. A paraphrase here, your pain is normal. Not that it's not extreme, not that it's not significant, because I don't know your pain and I don't know what it's about. But a lot of people have felt that pain. So don't do a woe is me and overfocus and beat yourself up over it. Oh my God, that was so humiliating. I know, brother, but trust me, we've all felt it.
Starting point is 00:12:08 So let it go, let it go. You are human. Now focus on the good stuff. All right. Now speaking of focusing on the good stuff, there's a question about food. Yes, there we go. So let's go to the first video here.
Starting point is 00:12:22 Tim or Trey about staying motivated on losing weight. Let's watch. Hi, Dr. Jank. So I've been dealing with pretty serious depression in quarantine and a big part of that is stress eating. So obviously, you know, comes to the territory, with the territory, you know, very immobile, that I have gained 15 or so pounds. And I've been having a really hard time motivating myself to lose weight because I'm not really
Starting point is 00:12:54 seeing people much. And, you know, in the past, it's been a big motivator, I guess, amongst other things. But right now, it's just not happening because my mind is just not in a place to really do it. So I was wondering if you had any tips. about motivation. I kind of understand how to lose weight, but just how to motivate myself to lose weight and also just do things in life that I used to do that may feel harder to push myself to do now. Thank you. Okay, all right. So first of all, you know, just on a serious note for a second, you said you're feeling a little depressed, right? So Tim and everyone else out there, again, you know I'm not a real doctor. I enjoyed you called me.
Starting point is 00:13:40 me, Dr. Jank, is part of the joke, but you should go see a therapist if you really have depression because they could really help you and they can help you on a consistent basis. So I just want to make sure everybody knows that to go to actual professionals. Okay, now, you're asking me how to lose weight. Have you ever seen me? So I remember Tyrion in Game of Thrones telling the viper, It was the viper, right? What?
Starting point is 00:14:13 The guy who dueled with the mountain, I'm getting hungry. Yeah, okay, yeah. Oberyn. Oberyn Martel, thank you, Craig. Always Craig and Edwin know better. So Tyrion said to them, if you come looking for justice, you've come to the wrong place.
Starting point is 00:14:33 So if you've come looking for advice on how to lose weight, you've come to the wrong place. Okay, but no, seriously, Tim, Let me try to be helpful. So first off, never eat something that you're not enjoying. And that might seem obvious, but it isn't obvious. A lot of people feel like, no, I gotta finish this food, and I gotta, you know, I gotta do this, and I gotta do this, and I gotta eat, or I get, et cetera.
Starting point is 00:14:59 No, you don't. So I am significantly overweight, but as I tell you guys from time to time, I earned it. And I don't eat the things I don't like. And the things that I do like eating, man, do I like eating them. And so I might be overweight, but at least I had a great time getting there. No joke. Okay, it sounds funny. But so if you're not, Tim, if you're not having a great time getting there, you're doing it wrong.
Starting point is 00:15:31 And so think about it as simple as this. If you're eating habits are making you feel worse and not better, well, then why are you doing it? You say, well, I mean, how do I stop? You stop, right? You go, hey, you know what, here, try this. Take a food that you really like. Let's say for me, it's, you know, a thousand things, but let's say nutty bars, right? Although these days they're called nutty buddies, which sounds weird.
Starting point is 00:16:00 Hey, buddy, you want to get fatter? Let's do it. Together. Anyways, so they're a little Debbie snack. And so the next time you're eating something that you don't love and you think you're overeating, switch to at least overeating on something you do like. Okay, all right, now here's another idea. When you're eating something you don't like, stop eating it. A lot of this advice is super simplistic, I get it. But you know, Sometimes you just need somebody to point you in a direction where you go, yeah, I guess I could do that. All right, now hold on. It's a little bit, I mean, not, it's all simplistic.
Starting point is 00:16:42 But let's go to the next layer, right? So the other day I was having a sandwich from fat sals. I'm not making it up. It sounds like the kind of place I would eat at, and it's true. It's a, there's a chain here in L.A. called fat sals. And they make these ridiculous sandwiches where they layer everything on top of it. So it's perfect for me, except I take the fries out. I don't like the potato taste in the in the sandwich. Anyways, have I gotten too specific?
Starting point is 00:17:07 So I ate the whole fat salad sandwich the other day when I shouldn't have because I got so full that I was uncomfortable. It's like, wait, wait, wait, I didn't do this right because one, I over ate so I'm going to gain weight in a way that doesn't maximize my enjoyment. number two, I actually actively feel bad now because this feeling of being bloated doesn't feel good. So why did I do that? And number three, if I just cut off a third of the sandwich or a quarter of the sandwich or whatever you're comfortable with and put it in the fridge, it would have been an awesome late night snack that I would have really enjoyed rather than had the downside of having it make me feel bloated in the afternoon. So there are these times. little tricks that help around the edges and I hope it it helps you. And then one last
Starting point is 00:18:01 thing, exercise. So here's a good way to think about exercise. It's not just about losing weight. It's about making you healthier. So again, long time members have heard me talk about this in the post games. But when I go to the doctor's office, there's usually two reactions, especially if I have a new doctor. They're like, okay, dude, you're an award. of trouble here, look at you, right? And they barely hide it. I mean, they don't say it that much more subtle than that. And if you're watching me here, you're seeing me from this vantage point and you're thinking, yeah, he's overweight, but I, you know, he seems to overdo it. No, if you saw the whole thing and you saw me from the side, you'd be like, oh, I get it.
Starting point is 00:18:45 No, he's really overweight. So sometimes you'll see like videos where I'm jogging for Wolfpack or the contest I had with Anna, then you see it better. And you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, No, no, dude's got a serious gut, okay? Or just asking any right winger. Anyways, and then they see my vitals and they do the checkups and stuff and they're like, they will literally look at me befuddled like this, like I don't get it. Why are you like you should be less healthy than you are? And the reason for that is I exercise.
Starting point is 00:19:17 So I'll exercise roughly four times a week, right? And it's not a big deal. It's, you know, I'll run three miles, maybe four miles, maybe I'll lift weights. But these days I had to cancel the gym membership because of coronavirus, so it's just running outside. A couple of push-ups and sit-ups. It's not a big deal at all. So, but it does work in keeping me healthier. And so when you exercise, think about it as an investment in your life.
Starting point is 00:19:47 You're buying extra days in your life. The more you exercise, the more time you have in your life. Is it a one-to-one ratio? I don't know, right? And could you get run over by a car tomorrow and that didn't work out? Sure, right? But for most people, on average, the more you exercise, the more you live. So you're like, huh, do I want to live an extra day?
Starting point is 00:20:12 Let me go run for a couple of miles and I'll add to my life. So I hope Tim, that was a little bit helpful. Okay, so let's keep it going. Next is Ian, and he wants to know balancing intensity versus aggression. It's a topic we were talking about a little bit earlier and a good topic for me. So let's watch. Hi, Jank, I'm Ian, and this is Olive. I'm wondering how you navigate the line between intensity and aggression in a conversation.
Starting point is 00:20:46 So I get into these conversations, both political, philosophical, with friends and family, and I'm worrying I might be a bit too intense sometimes for them to really understand what I'm saying. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for the question. I love that question. So a lot of you asked, how do you deal with Trump family members? So let me answer it in a couple of ways. And so one, let me just acknowledge I'm lucky.
Starting point is 00:21:16 I'm lucky in a thousand ways, as I've said now, a number of times in the show. But in this context, I'm lucky because I get the vent on air. So it's not bottled up for me. But okay, for you guys, a couple of things. If you have a smile on your face and you say things calmly, and again, it's deeply ironic coming from me. I get it. But I have to yell at the establishment on your behalf. On July 18th, get excited.
Starting point is 00:21:44 This is big. For the summer's biggest adventure. I think I just smurf my pants. That's a little too excited. Sorry. Smurfs. Only dinner's July 18th. To yell at right wingers on your behalf.
Starting point is 00:21:59 But you don't have to do that. If you have a smile on your face and you calmly say something or ask a question as I'm going to explain in a second, it'll drive them crazy. And that'll make you feel better. So how's this for a school of, you know, real life? So I'm not telling you to make them better, we'll get to that in a second. But for you, if you, here, let's do it in the form of a question. So you see what I mean. So let's say that it's a Trump supporter, right?
Starting point is 00:22:30 That's your uncle or whatever. And you're over there over at Thanksgiving, which you should be careful about in coronavirus days. Anyways, and I love thanks. It turns out today Charlie Kirk said, oh yeah, liberals hate Thanksgiving. What in the F are you talking about? No one loves Thanksgiving more than I do. So anyways, when you deal with those folks and they're telling you about how great Trump
Starting point is 00:22:51 is, there's a thousand questions you could ask him, let me give you a couple of examples. Hey, if Trump is such a great leader and manager and such a good businessman, why did he hire, why did he fire so many of the people that he himself hired? And just drop it and leave. Okay, smile and just, and have them thinking about it. Well, no, you know what, good business managers hire and fire all the time. And then they yell at the people that they hired. By the way, that does happen from time and time. Okay, but, but for Trump, it's nonstop, nonstop, nonstop. And the guys, he hired.
Starting point is 00:23:26 He said, he's the worst. He's the dumbest. He's today about John, or yesterday about John Bolton. Dumbest guy who's ever been in office. Then why'd you hire him? Okay. And people make mistakes. That's normal, right? But my God, Trump has done it a thousand times. All right, try another one. I know that you think that going bankrupt is a good business strategy. That's what Trump says, right? But is it making money a better strategy? Just drop it and leave. Plant a seed.
Starting point is 00:23:58 Have them good. No, but being bankrupt is better than making money. You sure? And then, well, then being bankrupt is a good thing because then that way you get to stiff people and you don't even have to pay them. Hey, but Uncle Bob, remember when you told me about that guy, Joe, who didn't pay you back and you were really mad about it? Isn't that how Trump is making other people feel when he doesn't pay them back?
Starting point is 00:24:31 And then go get a slice of turkey. Just drop a question, plant a seed. And you never know what those seeds turn out to. It's happened in my personal life where, you know, I don't get as aggressive as you see me on air when I'm talking about politics. I almost never do it in real life because you got to remember something. I'm going to tell you, I'm going to go off topic. It's a little bit related to this, but this is a super important thing that I want to tell you in this special. Look, and it's this actually the beginning of my book, Justice is Coming, except the book isn't coming for a long time.
Starting point is 00:25:08 I'm working on it, I'm working on it. Anyway, if you want to buy it ahead of time, justice is coming book.com, okay? And we'll eventually get it to you, probably middle of next year. But this is the beginning of the book and the intro, but I'm sharing it with you here. Look, we all have in our minds, we all have hardware and software. And we'll also have an operating system, but that's a little more complicated. So what do I mean by that? Hardware is things you're born at.
Starting point is 00:25:33 So you look back at my testing throughout school, which I did is another story I've told often in the post games. And by the way, become a member, hit the joint button below. And you'll get all these fun stories, especially when we go back to doing a two-hour show. And you'll get old school, et cetera. And we talk more about that in this. But anyway, I went back in my dad's basement and found all these old test scores ranging from like elementary school all the way up through law school.
Starting point is 00:26:06 My dad had some of them in a file cabinet and I had others in a box, etc. Anyway, and you see it clear as day. You see my life story in those test scores. You don't always see that. Some people are not good at taking tests, et cetera. But you see where I'm good and where I'm not good. So where I'm good is logical reasoning and verbal reasoning. And that's, I'm super lucky 99%, et cetera.
Starting point is 00:26:26 So every day I'm enormously appreciative of that. But you also see where I'm bad, like spatial reasoning. And I've talked about this a lot. And I'm just, I have trouble placing things in a dishwasher. So if you see that me in that context, like if you're my wife, you think not smart. And it's actually true. In that context, I'm not smart. 48%, 49th percentile, 50th of I'm lucky, 45th.
Starting point is 00:26:53 percentile. You see me struggling to pack a trunk and you're thinking, this guy, ooh, right? And so that's our hardware. And so if you know your hardware, well, lean into the things you're good at and don't worry too much about the things you're not good at. A lot of people focus, over focus on their weaknesses when they actually should be spending time on their strengths and cultivating their strengths and going in that direction because that's more likely to be a better path for you, which will make you happier and, quote, unquote, more successful because you're leaning into your strength. But in this context, I brought up because of the software. The software is what we're programmed with.
Starting point is 00:27:34 So anywhere from benign to toxic. So benign is eat with a fork and knife. Be nice to others. I hope most of you are teaching your kids be nice to others. And we all program our kids that way, or most of us do. And that's awesome software, be respectful, listen to others, it's don't fight, don't punch someone in the face for no reason, right? That's all good software that we program largely blank slates with, right?
Starting point is 00:28:05 Then there is the middle ground, which is faith and spirituality and religion. Some of it is wonderful, do on to others as you would have them do on to you, feed the poor, the needy, some of religion, not so good software. if you ask me, that's my personal opinion. And then you get to the toxic. And unfortunately, largely Fox News, but now an ecosystem of right wing blogs and social media, have programmed a couple of generations in this country with fear and hatred. And that's super sad. But it's true. And it's happened to people in my life. And you are not going to be able to, Undo that software overnight or over one Thanksgiving dinner.
Starting point is 00:28:56 It's not gonna happen and you're gonna beat your head against the wall trying to make it happen. So don't handle it in a way that is more productive. I'm not saying don't try and I'm not saying don't go towards a good solution. What I'm saying is do it one step at a time. You throw in a little bit of software, okay, and see what it does. And the next time you see that person, throw on a little bit of more software, but not in a way that is aggressive, but smiling, try to be helpful. And it's okay, and always tell them, it's okay if you don't agree. God bless, there's nothing wrong with that.
Starting point is 00:29:31 I'm just asking you to think about it this way. And by the way, if you don't want to think about it that way, don't. Okay? But here's, you asked me, we're in a conversation. So I'm telling you, this is how I see it. So you're concerned about voter fraud and you think they stole election. Look, I read online from reputable sources that there hasn't been any evidence of fraud. But I'm happy to go through it with you.
Starting point is 00:29:56 If you want to show me something, I can tell you if I think it's real or not real. Now, I picked a bad example there because you're going to go down a rabbit hole not be able to come out. But you could do it on simpler stuff. And if you wanted to, you could. If you have enough patience, you could go down that rabbit hole and prove it one by one. And some people are so far gone, now some of these Q&N guys think, and unfortunately it's a pretty big chunk of the country, that Democrats are not only doing all the child molestation, et cetera, but they're doing brain juice harvesting. I don't even know what brain juice is or what harvesting is, let alone why anybody would do it or why Democratic leadership would do it. And you know me, I don't have a lot of faith in democratic leadership, but they ain't doing that.
Starting point is 00:30:38 So if someone's got that kind of software in their head, it is going to be a long-term project. And the more you push in an intense way, in an aggressive way, the more they're going to put up a wall. So the reason I do it on air is completely different. It's a different dynamic than when you're in person with someone. Try to lower their wall, throw something over the wall with a smile on your face that is disarming. And then see how it goes. Okay, and if you do that enough, maybe you get to the right place. And if you don't, at least you gave it your best shot.
Starting point is 00:31:16 And so, Ian, you really asked that on behalf of so many other people because so many of these folks wrote in with similar questions. Rapid Fire 73s, is it possible to avoid relatives on both sides when 95% are racist conservatives? Okay, that was even harder when you get to a point where you think somebody might be specifically hateful. towards a group, you know, nice and easy, ask them challenging questions, but in a soft way, try to get them to rethink their biases and where they got those biases in the first place. So here on race. And this is a tough one, and I wouldn't start here, right? But hey, what is it that you're worried about black people going into, or BLM, they'll use code words, right? Black Lives Matter going into suburbs and rioting.
Starting point is 00:32:14 Did you know that 93% of the events were peaceful? Oh, yeah, but that 7%. Did you know that most of that 7% it wasn't the protesters, but the authorities that started? Oh, they'll get super bad about that. So I don't know that that's a great way to start either. But the reason I started down that path is because I wanted to say them, if you keep going, they'll eventually tell you, if you're convinced they're racist, they'll eventually tell you, you know black people commit more crimes.
Starting point is 00:32:40 Then you hit him with, okay, did you know that blacks and whites smoked marijuana at about the same rate? Does that make sense to you? And they probably smoke marijuana or know a lot of people who do. So at that point, they'll probably be like, yeah, maybe I could see that, right? Did you know that black people get arrested for smoking marijuana at nearly four times the rate? They might say fake news, but maybe they believe it or maybe they look it up and believe it later. And then you ask them, why do you think that is? I mean, if we're both doing it at the same rate, why are they getting arrested at four times the rate?
Starting point is 00:33:15 And can you see how that would make them that group seem like criminals, but not because of their action? Because remember, they're smoking it at the same rate as us, but because of the authority's actions in targeting them. And then if you were in that position and they were picking on right wingers or militia or whatever you are, right? wouldn't you be angry at the cops? In fact, don't you say don't tread on me? And in a sense, aren't we treading on them when we're arresting them at this huge rate for no reason when we are doing it at the same pace? Start to ask those questions, right? And then at some point, if they're really, really racist, I'll say, oh, you know, black people are more violent.
Starting point is 00:33:56 That's one of the biggest stereotype tropes. That's the one that drives me crazy. And at that point, I got to contain myself not to lash out, right? But when you ask this question, at first it'll seem explosive, but it's good to plant it in their heads. So we're worried about one race in this country being more violent than the other. So Bob, can you remind me who kept who as slaves and whipped them and put them in chains and took away their freedom and did the He's now getting super mad because you're really, really right. And he knows you're right.
Starting point is 00:34:35 That's why he's getting mad. And then, but at that point, I would then disengage and say, just think about it. And, you know, maybe blacks kept whites as slaves. Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe I, maybe they told me fake news in history. He knows that's not true, right? And so I wonder if blacks or Asians or anyone else thought whites were super violent because of all the wars, because of the Holocaust, because of slavery, I think they'd be wrong though, Bob, wouldn't they?
Starting point is 00:35:04 Because that's still unfair to all white people to think about it that way. So I wonder if you're being fair to black people when they didn't even do any of that. Try it, see what happens, right? But yes, race is a particularly toxic situation. And then finally on this, because I've spent a lot of time on it, and I wasn't supposed to be political, but you guys did ask. Lindsey McCormick 44 asks, what's the most effective way to convert Republican family members into progressives? That was easy.
Starting point is 00:35:36 Get them to watch the young terms. And they might, and a lot of people have reported back in the beginning they were mad. Then they were kind of entertained for a little while, and so they watched a little longer, right? And then they were like, oh, that kid's got a good point on that one. They used to call me a kid, they don't do that anymore. But, all right, maybe he's got a point on that one. You know what, and I made a decent point on that way. I mean, most of it's totally hogwash, right?
Starting point is 00:36:01 But that was, wait a way, that third one was a good point too. And then you make a good point and another family member makes up good point. And at some point, and we've had a lot of conservatives, libertarians, et cetera, evangelical, Christians, fundamentalists, et cetera, right into us and say, at some point the dam broke and I realized, holy cow, I've been lied to my whole life. They're right. The Republicans never did balance the budgets. They're right. The Republicans started almost all the wars. They're right. The Republicans are the ones that say I shouldn't control my own body and I shouldn't be able to smoke weed and I shouldn't have sex in this way and that way and et cetera. Wait, why are they the Freedom Party? So this was a little self-serving. But get him to watch the Young Turks. We'll get him. We'll get him eventually.
Starting point is 00:36:48 Not because we're the bad guys, but because we're the good guys. And we are right. We're making the right points. And support that through t yt.com slash go. Anyways, let's do one more video here before we take a break. Let's go next to Jenna Holcomb all the way from Sweden, I believe. Let's watch. Hey, Jenks, it's Jenna. I'm here in Sweden. I have a question for you.
Starting point is 00:37:10 How, with all the stuff you have going on in your life, including work and kids and side hustles, what do you do to keep from getting overwhelmed? Maybe on a daily basis or some kind of strategy you have because I find it hard and I have. nowhere near their responsibilities that you have. Let me know. No, Jenna, I get overwhelmed all the time. So lesson one, don't be too hard on yourself. If you get overwhelmed, you're human.
Starting point is 00:37:38 That's normal. And so I wanted to go see this movie about Ram Dass. He's apparently a spiritual guru and a very well-known one. I just didn't happen to know about him until I saw the movie about a year and a half ago. And the reason I went is I'm always trying to learn. You know, if this guy's a spiritual guru, maybe he figured out something I didn't. And so I could learn from it. And he had, there was this one great line that he had that they put in the documentary.
Starting point is 00:38:08 That really stuck with me. And this was all the way back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s when he was really at his height. And he's got all these people listening to him. And he does, like I don't do yoga and I don't have to dress in a robe to feel happy, right? But you do you, boo. And so he had all the trappings of that, but when he spoke, he said, look, if you see a bunch of people in a room and they're all smiling ear to ear, they're full of crap. And it was weird coming from a guy, you know, sitting cross leg and kind of a robe and looking like that stereotype. And he's like, nobody's that happy all the time.
Starting point is 00:38:46 And if you're pretending to be, you're probably covering up something that's a bigger problem. And so you don't have to fake it like that and you don't have to be happy 24-7. We're all humans. So somebody asked about a traffic situation, a question I'll get to a little bit later in the show. But yeah, I get frustrated on the road, right? I get frustrated at work and most of all I get overwhelmed because I've taken on way too many projects. And so don't beat yourself up over it, that's step one, okay. Step two is make a plan.
Starting point is 00:39:24 So, and honestly, I didn't do this until this year. A lot of these realizations are a lifetime of thinking about this. And a lot of it was breakthroughs that happened this year for me. And this was one of the breakthroughs. I was like, you know, I didn't realize what I was trying to do is so goddamn impossible. And I gotta stop trying to do too many things at once. So I don't mean this to be self-aggrandizing. I actually am saying it for you in your personal life, so you don't overload yourself.
Starting point is 00:39:57 So think about young Turks, we started in my living room with no money. And the first interview I ever had, they asked me what my goal was, and I said world domination. And I wanted to be the largest show and media company in the world. That's insane. Okay, we had no money, we had no context, we didn't know anybody, right? Which is actually even a bigger deficit. Now eventually we wound up getting some of those and we wound up knowing people and I wound up raising money.
Starting point is 00:40:27 But I didn't know how to raise money back then. I didn't know any of it. And so I'm so glad I didn't know it was impossible. Because as it turns out, now we're in terms of online media, when you include the big dogs like CNN, ABC, Fox News, et cetera, we're top. Five in almost every platform. Little old us, little old us. We haven't caught them on TV yet, but we've, but digital media obviously is the present and the future. It's not just the future, it's also the present, but we kind of caught him. Isn't that amazing? By the way,
Starting point is 00:41:07 and again, not for self-aggrandizement, but it's true. If you ever donated or if you ever, if you're a member, you caught him. You caught the big dogs. Well, that's a hell of a thing, Right? So then I started Wolf Pack and somebody asked about that and then Justice Democrats and now Rebellion Pack. And I didn't know that it would be so hard to change the government. And thank God I didn't. And we got on a path. And have we gotten there as quickly as I wanted or you wanted? No. As have there been setbacks? Yes, big setbacks. Bernie not winning this year. Huge setback. I thought I could do that congressional run.
Starting point is 00:41:53 And it turns out I couldn't. And that's a whole long story as to why that didn't work. But those are big, big setbacks. But then Jamal won and Corey Bush won, Marie Newman one. And next thing you know, wait a minute, you guys all saw it together with your own eyes. Right after Trump won in 2016, I said, we got. to take over the Democratic Party, then a bunch of people from Bernie's campaign, and me and and Kyle Kalinsky, we started Justice Democrats. And holy cow, here we are in 2020 with 10
Starting point is 00:42:30 Justice Democrats in Congress. And a lot of you, you did that. One step at a time, one step at a time. So I have some mantras that I repeat in my head. And one of them is, and an important one is one thing at a time. You just cannot do two things at the same time. So, step one, step two, step three, it's okay, okay, and you'll eventually get there. But the last, in this particular succession, my last step here is I came to a realization this year, okay, Jenk, enough. Like, I'm pushing too hard and at some point I'm going to break and or the organizations that I'm trying to help are going to break if we're trying to do too many things at once. So let me reassess here. And so in my reassessment,
Starting point is 00:43:18 One of the things I promised myself is no more packs. So this is it. Okay, let's make sure we get these guys right, okay? And help those guys if you can, the three packs that I started. And so anyway, because if I take on another one, it's going to hurt the others. And it's going to make the job of getting those goals accomplished potentially harder, not easier. So it's a long way of saying Jenna that you got to pace yourself too and you got to find what is the right balance for you and it might be different than the balance for me. But if you take it one step at a time and you do that as self-assessment, you'll have a good sense, not a perfect sense, but a good sense of what you can handle and what you can handle in a way that makes you happy every day.
Starting point is 00:44:09 Because if you're overloading yourself, you're gonna overstress yourself and then you've lost track of why you were doing it in the first place. which was as we started the show many hours ago now with the idea of getting the most enjoyment out of life and some of the things you took took on you probably did because it's going to lead to fulfillment it's going to maybe even lead to money which then are gets you the necessities that you need for you and your family and some of it is just going to give you immediate joy but you got to make sure that you're balancing all that out so you're not going just for immediate joy or just for long-term joy and never getting to the long-term.
Starting point is 00:44:46 You know, you got to enjoy it in the meanwhile, too. So that's why balance is so important. God, there's so much I want to tell you, but let's take a break here. I got more videos and more of your questions, including what happens when I get really pissed in a traffic jam when we come back. Thanks for listening to the full episode of the Young Turks. Support our work, listen to ad-free, access members, only bonus content, and more by subscribing to Apple Podcasts at apple.com slash t-y-t.
Starting point is 00:45:16 I'm your host, Shank Huger, and I'll see you soon.

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